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Designing Questions

I have decided that I want to try my hand at designing some stuff but I have NO idea how to go about it. From what I can find, most people scan in fabrics & stuff to get textures and papers but what about elements? I know I can scan small things like buttons & stuff but what about big things or 3 dimensional objects? Do I take pictures of stuff & scan those in? Also, I read somewhere that you can take things like paper scrapbooking supplies and scan those but won't those be subject to copyright laws?

HI Michelle,
Yes, paper supplies are subject to copyright, but also big things and 3 dimensional items CAN BE copyrighted...it's really tough sometimes to figure out what's ok, and what's not. Generic things are ok (apple, tree, etc) but identifiable things that have been created by someone else can and probably do have copyrights. I just found out yesterday that the "Happy Birthday" song is copyrighted! There are things in the public domain that can be used. It's important to research things carefully.

Michelle, Yes, photographing things and extracting is a great way to go. I like to go to antique stores and get some photos of really old stuff, like hinges and boxes, etc. That will make your elements unique. You can make your own things, like ribbons and flowers, or extract your own from photos. Andrea's classes give you lots of great lessons on how to do these things, and the papermaking class is wonderful!

A lot of the elements can be created yourself, depending on the style you want to use. I create a lot of shapes in Illustrator and then export them to Photoshop and use styles, patterns, etc. in the program to give life to the shapes. I knew about Illustrator and Photoshop, but took some of Andrea's classes and learned a lot more.

Taking photos and scanning is a great way to go. What works well is to put a paper of contrasting color behind it. Use a bright blue paper for an apple for example. It's easier to extract with a good contrast behind it.

For creating elements, designing them yourself, or photographing and scanning your own non-copyrighted objects are the best way to go. Here is a helpful site about the copyright laws http://www.rightsforartists.com/copyright.html. Hope this helps.